Wikipedia:New contributors' help page/questions

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This help forum has been discontinued. New contributors will instead be made welcome at the Wikipedia:Teahouse, a friendly place to help new editors become accustomed to Wikipedia culture, ask questions, and develop community relationships.

There is an extensive Archive of old questions from 2004 onwards.

Oldest

Language in bibliographies of secondary literature

In the bibliographies of secondary literature people add titles in every languages, but shouldn't the lists of secondary literature be limited to the page's language? Please notify me on my talk page. Thanks. Doctor Universalis (talk) 12:37, 28 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

No, we assume that our readers may be polyglot, and indeed in many cases might be better able to read the reference sources in other languages. Human wisdom is not limited to works in any given language, and indeed you can say things in one language that simply can't be said in many others. --Orange Mike | Talk 22:17, 30 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Broom-Patch

I'm trying to improve the article Christoph Bode. Any concrete statements what should be changed? I followed the links but found no precise statements, WHAT should be brushed away. Any suggestions where to start? Grey Geezer 11:21, 29 December 2011 (UTC) — Preceding unsigned comment added by Grey Geezer (talk • contribs)

December 30

Editing or inserting pictures in wikipedia

I do have some problems with inserting images, how should I do this? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 213.230.82.133 (talk) 08:22, 30 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

See WP:Images. - David Biddulph (talk) 10:48, 30 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Question about our editing

we edited twice with proper explanation about our contribution to Chitpavan society.

We do not know why our information was deleted giving no chance to us and this is unfair and unjusticable Pacificengineering (talk) 10:22, 30 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

You have been provided with a number of useful links on your talk page, so please take the trouble to read them. In particular you need to understand Wikipedia's criteria for notability, and specifically for biographies of living people. Information needs to be verifiable by reference to reliable sources, and you also need to read WP:Referencing for beginners. - David Biddulph (talk) 10:45, 30 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

correction require

http://www.apnaorg.com/shahmukhi/

waDi ye

"choti ye " produces sound of "ay". Normally it is used in its original shape at the end of words For example "mairay". (mine) +++++ in above page "waDi ye" is written as "choti ye"

Regards — Preceding unsigned comment added by 85.73.137.35 (talk) 11:06, 30 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

If you have a question about using Wikipedia, you will need to make it clearer what you are asking. If not, then you are at the wrong place. --ColinFine (talk) 13:53, 30 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

list

Hello Wiki Team!

I have noticed that Annemarie Schwarzenbach is not listed in the list of the cycling road accident victims, as for example Nico. She died that way therefore I think she should be added in the list.

Best regards,

Rebeka — Preceding unsigned comment added by 165.125.178.14 (talk) 13:57, 30 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Thank you for the suggestion; I added Category:Cycling road accident victims to Annemarie Schwarzenbach. —teb728 t c 17:57, 30 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

style _and_ technical question

I've checked the FAQ's and can't find an answer to this (or at least easily).

Let's say that you have already cited and referenced a whole journal article

e.g.

^[1]

and now, in a later instance you wish to refer to a specific page in that article (p. 74). How would you do that?

Thanks!

1. Walster, E. (1966). "Assignment for responsibility for an accident". Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 3 (1): 73–79.

Dr Ashton (talk) 20:38, 30 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Is Wikipedia:Citing sources#Citing multiple pages of the same source helpful? PrimeHunter (talk) 03:52, 31 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

December 31

Linking pages

Hello,

I wanted to link "millennial" to the "generation Y" article. I have no idea how to go about doing this. How do you link one article to another. (If someone else does this, that would be great.)

Many thanks,

76.242.153.230 (talk) 02:30, 31 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

I'm not sure whether you refer to editing Millenial or another page containing the word "millennial". For the latter, see Help:Link where you probably want [[generation Y|millennial]] which produces millennial. PrimeHunter (talk) 03:46, 31 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

There already is a link from the Millennial disambiguation page to Generation Y using the redirect Millennial Generation. Perhaps that is what you wanted. —teb728 t c 17:10, 31 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Planet sheen (season 2) info

planet sheen is a spin-off series to the adventures of jimmy neutron boy genius.the reason it doesn't have 2 seasons now is because they are being delayed by some kind of company that closed it's doors.the show did not have the series finale and it isn't cancelled.it will continue to have new episodes next year. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.233.241.209 (talk) 03:37, 31 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

It sounds as if you are wanting to add some information to an article, but you haven't told us which article. If you have information from a reliable source, you are welcome to add it to the article - but "delayed by some kind of company that closed its doors" does not sound like reliable information, and as it stands is not acceptable anywhere in Wikipedia. --ColinFine (talk) 20:05, 31 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

GPL tyre wear physics

Your info on this section is utter rubbish. The game has an excellent modelling of tyre temperature which dramativcally effects grip levels. To suggest this is a weakness or simplified is garbage!!! — Preceding unsigned comment added by 92.19.137.160 (talk) 10:12, 31 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Grand Prix Legends (edit | talk | history | protect | delete | links | watch | logs | views)

A Wikipedia article is only as good as its sources. Since the assertion about tyre wear was not linked to a source, I have removed it. Any editor may challenge and remove text that has no source, and the rule is that it cannot now be put back without a source. -- John of Reading (talk) 18:19, 31 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Johnny Raducanu died someplace else

He died in Oltarului Street of Bucharest,on september 19 th of 2011. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 62.83.235.239 (talk) 10:49, 31 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

The article Johnny Răducanu has what appears to be a reliable source for the statement that he died "at his apartment in the Banu Manta section of Bucharest". I'm not sure if you are saying something different, or just being more precise; but either way your information is acceptable only if you have a reliable source for it - personal knowledge is not acceptable in Wikipedia.

If your address is more precise, and you have a reliable source, then please edit the article to say so, remembering to cite your source. If your information contradicts the source in the article, then the situation is more complex, and you would do best to bring up the issue on Talk:Johnny Răducanu for other editors to resolve with you. But again, if you have not got a reliable source for your information, it is unlikely to get included. --ColinFine (talk) 20:13, 31 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Edits no longer show

Hello. My edits no longer show, but the View History tab does not show that anyone removed my edits. Thank you. Ninainc (talk) 15:41, 31 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Bypass your cache to see the latest version. PrimeHunter (talk) 16:32, 31 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Thank you so much! That was the problem. Ninainc (talk) 05:41, 1 January 2012 (UTC)[reply]

January 1

adding references

I have just started editing wikipedia, should I add the references onto the page myself or put them in the Edit summary? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Mccririck (talk • contribs) 14:22, 1 January 2012 (UTC)[reply]

The page. See Wikipedia:Referencing for beginners. PrimeHunter (talk) 15:43, 1 January 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Replying to an Editor

I have had an e-mail from an Editor informing me that a page I had submitted infringed an author's copyright, which is incorrect.

I want to reply to the Editor but cannot understand how to do this. The e-mail itself is of the 'do not reply' sort.

Can anyone tell me how to reply to the Editor, or is this not permitted?

MisterL123 (talk) 17:28, 1 January 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Ps. In fact, I find most of the Wikipedia instructions on 'how to do this' or 'do that' far too complicated

The real message is on your "talk page", which is User talk:MisterL123. Whenever you are logged in to Wikipedia, you can reach that page by clicking the "My talk" at the top right of every page. You can reply to the message by editing that page; see Help:Using talk pages for more.

The email is merely a notification from the software that your talk page has been edited. You can turn off this feature if you like; see Help:Email notification for more on that. -- John of Reading (talk) 17:44, 1 January 2012 (UTC)[reply]

January 2

deletion

I really am confused - I created a page about the club secretary acting chief exec at Blackpool FC and it was deleted due to no references, "speedy deltion" - I followed the link and did what I believed to be the process for undeletion by putting the reasons forward but my undeletion request is sat in "my contributions" and doesn't seem to be doing anything.... I'm not sure what I'm meant to do... — Preceding unsigned comment added by UpTheMightyPool (talk • contribs) 11:26, 2 January 2012 (UTC)[reply]

It was responded to see Wikipedia:Requests for undeletion#Matt Williams (football club secretary). If you have any further questions about the response given there then just let me know here. --Mrmatiko (talk) 11:30, 2 January 2012 (UTC)[reply]

In order to be eligible for an article on Wikipedia, a subject must satisfy our notability standards. Your article was deleted because it did not indicate why Williams is important or significant. —teb728 t c 18:27, 2 January 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Peter Philips --- composer 17c

You could add to the discography "Cantiones Sacrae Quinis et Octonibus Vocibus" Naxos 8.572832 — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2.26.62.45 (talk) 12:39, 2 January 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked

<<Copy of the Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked article removed by John of Reading>>

— Preceding unsigned comment added by 190.73.165.193 (talk) 14:37, 2 January 2012 (UTC)[reply]

This is not a good place to submit content for an article. See Help:Editing to get started, or post again here if you have a specific question. -- John of Reading (talk) 16:49, 2 January 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Quality scale: when is a stub a stub?

I recently created Ariel Sands, which was reviewed and graded "stub-class" on the quality scale. But the reviewer did not add a stub template. Is there a difference between being a stub and being stub-class? What would it require to be upgraded on the quality scale? QueenMabel (talk) 15:16, 2 January 2012 (UTC)QueenMabel[reply]

The subject of my article shares his name with another person already on Wikipedia

I submitted an article about a writer, who shares his name with a CEO who is already featured on Wikipedia. They are clearly different people (different dates of birth etc) but both would be known by the same name. I submitted my draft and a warning came up about the clash, but I don't know how to change the title of my article. Any help would be much appreciated.

Estherstephens (talk) 23:53, 2 January 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Don't worry. If the reviewer at Articles for creation accepts your draft they will rename it to Ian Marchant (writer) or something like that. —teb728 t c 01:02, 3 January 2012 (UTC)[reply]

January 3

Special!

Which link do I click on in "Special Pages" to get to Special:Upload? Yippee!! 19:06, 3 January 2012 (UTC) — Preceding unsigned comment added by Rroobbeerrtt (talk • contribs)

In the “Media reports and uploads” section, click on “Upload file”. Or (easier) in the side bar of any page, in the “Toolbar” section (click on “Toolbar” if necessary to expand it), click on “Upload file”. —teb728 t c 19:21, 3 January 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Note that you won't be able to the "Upload file" link until your account has been registered for four days. If you are intending to upload free images then they can, and should, be uploaded to Wikimedia commons using the "Upload file" link there. You can do this without waiting four days. -- John of Reading (talk) 19:24, 3 January 2012 (UTC)[reply]

suggestion box for Wikipedia? Ranking system for most demanding articles/lists?

Hello,

My appologies if this is the wrong place to put this, but I didn't find any "suggestion box" anywhere. If there is one, can you please point me towards it?

I would like to suggest that some sort of ranking system be added to the lists and articles suggestion pages. In my case, I was browsing the suggestion lists to see where I could contribute (which takes some time already) and found some good suggestions I didn't feel capable of answering. When browsing through the list I wass missing a button to say "I like this suggestion" or "I add myself to this petition". If everyone did this, then the editors could find the most demanded articles and lists and focus their efforts there.

Also, when I first registered I was asked where I wanted to start contributing, in which area of expertise,... so I cood choose among a list of incomplete articles. How can I get to that option again?

Many thanks,

Musi3d — Preceding unsigned comment added by Musi3d (talk • contribs) 23:15, 3 January 2012 (UTC)[reply]

To suggest an improvement to the Wikipedia:Requested articles page, you could try posting at the corresponding talk/discussion page, Wikipedia talk:Requested articles. Another possible venue would be Wikipedia:Village pump (proposals). But posting your idea here is a good start, and may generate some comments.

I don't know the answer to your second question, but I can give some other suggestions. One is to visit Wikipedia:Community portal and scroll down to the "Help out" section. Another is to find an appropriate "WikiProject". These are the co-ordination pages for the Wikipedia editors most interested in a topic, and will usually have a "To do" list of some kind. For example, I see that you made an edit at Lioness: Hidden Treasures. If you go to the talk/discussion page, Talk:Lioness: Hidden Treasures, you'll see a notice advertising WikiProject Albums, and part way down that page you will find an "Open tasks" section. -- John of Reading (talk) 08:22, 4 January 2012 (UTC)[reply]

(more) The "Learn what you can do" page is here. -- John of Reading (talk) 17:07, 4 January 2012 (UTC)[reply]

January 4

History editing

hi.When I successfully created my user account on wikipedia a few days ago,I was taken to a page that displayed a list of articles of my subject of interest (world history) that needed/I could help editing or expanding.I've since been unable to find that page and need 'directions' that would get me there.I hope I've reported my problem in the right section.thank youOwais shahid (talk) 16:36, 4 January 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Were you thinking of Wikipedia:WikiProject History? - David Biddulph (talk) 16:46, 4 January 2012 (UTC)[reply]

I think this page, or one of those it leads to, may be the page you are thinking of. But I agree with David; Wikipedia:WikiProject History is the main co-ordination page for the project's historians, and would be a good page to start at. -- John of Reading (talk) 17:00, 4 January 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Uncreated Articles

Is there a list of all the red links in the English/Simple English Wikipedia? If so, can you give a link? --Skyswallow (talk) 19:17, 4 January 2012 (UTC)[reply]

No, I don't think there is such a list, as it would be far too long to manage. You might be interested in Wikipedia:Requested articles or Wikipedia:Most wanted articles, perhaps. Thank you for registering an account, by the way; I've left you some introductory links on your talk page. -- John of Reading (talk) 19:50, 4 January 2012 (UTC)[reply]

NYS Songwriter Database

I see there is a Database of songwriters from New York State. As a writer with several independent cuts, I would love to be included in this list. How does one go about doing that? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.205.47.210 (talk) 20:33, 4 January 2012 (UTC)[reply]

I'm not clear whether you are asking about a list on Wikipedia (though I can't find a list which seems to match) or some other resource. If it is a Wikipedia list, you can be added only if you meet Wikipedia's criteria for notability. If it is somewhere else, we may or may not be able to help you, but we certainly can't if you don't give us any information about what database or list you are talking about. --ColinFine (talk) 22:56, 4 January 2012 (UTC)[reply]

I guess you refer to Category:Songwriters from New York. That is called a category. It can only show names of existing Wikipedia articles. See Wikipedia:Notability (music) for a notability guideline covering songwriters. See Wikipedia:Autobiography if you were considering to write an article about yourself. PrimeHunter (talk) 23:35, 4 January 2012 (UTC)[reply]

January 5

Creating a Page for an Insurance Company

Hi,

I am a copywriter for Arbella Insurance Group, and a task of mine is to create a Wikipedia site. I created the page, but it was deleted, I'm guessing because I did not have enough references. My page also said this: "Non-notable regional insurance company in the USA; fails WP:GNG and WP:ORG. Only passing mentions in sources." I don't understand how to fix this, and I have no material to use as references, other than the company website and perhaps a couple of articles. Can you help with this?

Thanks,

lawolters

Lawolters (talk) 16:53, 5 January 2012 (UTC)[reply]

You need to tell your employers that they have given you a task which is by its nature almost impossible for you to perform. The company may or may not pass the notability criteria in WP:ORG: if it does, then there may be an article about it in Wikipedia. If not, then there may not be an article about it in Wikipedia. If even you do not have any material to use as references, then it is very unlikely that it is notable.

But even if there should be an article, you are approximately the least appropriate person in the world to write it, because you have a huge conflict of interest.

In fact, if your employers have commissioned you to write an article then they are almost certainly doing so with the purpose of promoting the company, which is expressly forbidden.

Sorry. --ColinFine (talk) 18:03, 5 January 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Editing a page

I was trying to edit the page on The Linacre Quarterly, and I added information but the prior information remained in place. Now there is duplicate information on the page. What should I do to eliminate the redundancy?